1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of signal detection using correlation analysis, and more specifically, to correlation analysis in which the results of analyzing segments of samples separated in time and possibly having non-uniform lengths are combined to achieve a greater effective signal to noise ratio (SNR).
2. Background of the Invention
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a collection of 24 earth-orbiting satellites. Each of the GPS satellites travels in a precise orbit about 11,000 miles above the earth's surface. A GPS receiver locks onto at least 3 of the satellites, and responsive, thereto, is able to determine its precise location. Each satellite transmits a signal modulated with a unique pseudo-noise (PN) code. Each PN code comprises a sequence of 1023 chips which are repeated every millisecond consistent with a chip rate of 1.023 MHz. Each satellite transmits at the same frequency. For civil applications, the frequency is known as L1 and is 1575.42 MHz. The GPS receiver receives a signal which is a mixture of the transmissions of the satellites that are visible to the receiver. The receiver detects the transmission of a particular satellite by correlating the received signal with shifted versions of the PN code for that satellite. If the level of correlation is sufficiently high so that there is a peak in the level of correlation achieved for a particular shift and PN code, the receiver detects the transmission of the satellite corresponding to the particular PN code. The receiver then used the shifted PN code to achieve synchronization with subsequent transmissions from the satellite.
The receiver determines its distance from the satellite by determining the code phase of the transmission from the satellite. The code phase (CP) is the delay, in terms of chips or fractions of chips, that a satellite transmission experiences as it travels the approximately 11,000 mile distance from the satellite to the receiver. The receiver determines the code phase for a particular satellite by correlating shifted versions of the satellite's PN code with the received signal after correction for Doppler shift. The code phase for the satellite is determined to be the shift which maximizes the degree of correlation with the received signal.
The receiver converts the code phase for a satellite to a time delay. It determines the distance to the satellite by multiplying the time delay by the velocity of the transmission from the satellite. The receiver also knows the precise orbits of each of the satellites. The receiver uses this information to define a sphere around the satellite at which the receiver must be located, with the radius of the sphere equal to the distance the receiver has determined from the code phase. The receiver performs this process for at least three satellites. The receiver derives its precise location from the points of intersection between the at least three spheres it has defined.
The Doppler shift (DS) is a frequency shift in the satellite transmission caused by relative movement between the satellite and the receiver along the line-of-sight (LOS). It can be shown that the frequency shift is equal to             v      LOS        λ    ,where νLOS is the velocity of the relative movement between the satellite and receiver along the LOS, and λ is the wavelength of the transmission. The Doppler shift is positive if the receiver and satellite are moving towards one another along the LOS, and is negative if the receiver and satellite are moving away from one another along the LOS.
The Doppler shift alters the perceived code phase of a satellite transmission from its actual value. Hence, the GPS receiver must correct the satellite transmissions for Doppler shift before it attempts to determine the code phase for the satellite through correlation analysis.
The situation is illustrated in FIG. 1, which shows a GPS receiver 200 and three GPS satellites 201a, 201b, and 201c. Each satellite 201a, 201b, 201c is transmitting to the GPS receiver 200. Satellite 201a is moving towards the GPS receiver 200 along the LOS at a velocity νa+; satellite 201b is moving away from the GPS receiver 200 along the LOS at a velocity νb−; and satellite 201c is moving away from the GPS receiver 200 along the LOS at a velocity νc−. Consequently, assuming a carrier wavelength of λ, the transmission from satellite 201a will experience a positive Doppler shift of             v      a      +        λ    ;the transmission from satellite 201b will experience a negative Doppler shift of             v      b      -        λ    ;and the transmission from satellite 201c will experience a negative Doppler shift of             v      c      -        λ    .
The GPS receiver functions by sampling a finite portion of the received signal and then processing the samples. Typically, external constraints limit the size and occurrence of the sampling period. For example, in the case of a mobile wireless phone integrated with a GPS receiver, the sampling window should be limited to those periods in which the phone is not transmitting. The purpose is to avoid interference between the transmitter and the GPS receiver.
The problem is that the signal to noise ratio of the received signal over a finite sampling window may not be sufficient to detect the presence and range of the satellites. For example, the signal may be such that there is no correlation value for a particular set of hypotheses which is significantly larger than the correlation values resulting from the other hypotheses tested.
Moreover, it is difficult to combine segments of samples captured over different periods of time because each is subject to a different code phase which must be accounted for before the segments can be combined, and these code phases are unknown. In an effort to increase the signal to noise ratio of the received signal, prior art receivers are thus required to either forgo operation during times in which the received signal is weak, or to extend the sampling period beyond the limits imposed by external constraints. In certain applications, such as the case of a GPS receiver integrated with a mobile wireless phone, extension of the sampling window is not usually feasible since it would subject the received signal to unacceptable interference from the phone's transmitter. In such applications, the practical effect is to forego operation of the GPS receiver when the received signal is weak. Such occurrences are frequent because of the approximately 11,000 distance traveled by the GPS satellite transmissions, and because of the noise to a particular satellite represented by the other satellite's transmissions.
Consequently, there is a need for a signal detector which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art. Similarly, there is a need for a GPS receiver which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.